Picture your holiday turkey: Do you see the bronze bird as the centerpiece of a feast? Or do you envision a platter of crisp-skinned thighs nestled among a few favorite dishes for an intimate gathering?

Your perfect turkey may depend on the size of your party, your budget, your timetable or simply your preference. (Dark meat, please!) Although making a whole turkey can be impressive, selecting one of its cuts — the breast, thighs or legs — often is cheaper and easier to manage and takes up less of that precious oven space.

As a rule of thumb, the formula for roasting a whole (unstuffed) turkey is about 15 minutes per pound in a 325-degree oven. Bring the oven up to 350 degrees and you can cut the time by as much as 5 minutes per pound.

While this — and the details on each cut below — can help you formulate your cooking strategies, many variables can affect cooking time: Is your oven temperature accurate? Are you first searing the meat? Is your turkey stuffed? (It will take longer to cook.) Is it fully thawed? (It takes about 24 hours of refrigeration for every 5 pounds.)

No matter which cut or turkey recipe you choose, one tool is essential: an instant-read digital thermometer.

When using the thermometer, be sure to insert it into the thickest part of the meat, staying clear of the bone. For whole turkeys, check the breast and innermost part of the thigh. Both should read at least 165 degrees, according to the Department of Agriculture. If the bird is stuffed, that stuffing also needs to reach 165 degrees in the center.

Never rely on a recipe’s suggested cooking time, the look of the meat or the little pop-up button that is inserted in some birds.

For longer cooking times due to lower oven temperature or the size of the turkey, check the temperature about 30 to 45 minutes before the bird is expected to be done; for shorter roasting times, check about 10 to 15 minutes early to avoid overcooking.

Below, you’ll find approximate cooking times and suggested temperatures for roasting each cut of the turkey. The USDA, at usda.gov, has a handy chart for how long it would take to cook each cut in a 325-degree oven, but we have discovered that the optimal temperature for a breast is quite different from the one for a leg or thigh.

Whole turkey

There are solid reasons this is the traditional holiday bird. Besides providing the opportunity for that Norman

Rockwell-esque presentation of the big, golden bird, it also easily serves a large group and provides white and dark meat, so everyone can have their preference.

Estimated time: At 350 degrees: about 10 minutes per pound unstuffed and between 13 and 15 minutes stuffed.

Example: A 15-pound turkey will take about 2½ hours to cook; stuffed, it can take about 3½ hours.

Tips: If the turkey is still frozen or only partially thawed, you can still roast it, but it will take longer. You also can speed up the thawing process by immersing it in cold water. (Change the water every 30 minutes.) Never stuff a bird that is not completely thawed. And, remember, a whole cooked bird should rest for about 20 minutes before carving.

Spatchcocked whole turkey

Butterflying and flattening the bird, then cranking up the heat, will significantly speed up the roasting process. Spatchcocking encourages more even cooking, which allows you to roast at a higher temperature and results in the breast and thighs being ready nearly simultaneously. Bonuses: You’ll have moist meat and crisp skin, and the bird takes up less vertical room, so you may be able to slip other dishes into the oven.

Estimated time: At 450 degrees, about 6 minutes per pound.

Example: A 12-pound turkey will take about 1 hour and 10 minutes.

Tips: For crisper skin, spatchcock, season the bird and refrigerate it up to 3 days in advance. The larger the bird, the more difficult it can be to spatchcock, which involves removing the spine and breaking the breastbone to flatten it. You can ask your butcher to handle the task. A spatchcocked bird should also rest for about 20 minutes before carving.

Turkey breast

Lower temperatures are generally recommended for the breast to prevent it from becoming dry. This cut is ideal for a smaller crowd and for folks who prefer leaner white meat. Because there is no dark meat, you can remove the breast when it reaches 165 degrees (without having to wait for the legs and thighs to reach temperature). Roasting a breast can be a thrifty way to supplement a whole bird for a larger gathering, giving you more meat with less hassle. It takes up less space in the oven, too.

Estimated time: At 325 degrees, about 25 minutes per pound.

Example: A 4-to-6-pound whole, bone-in, skin-on breast should take about 90 minutes to 2½ hours; a half-breast (2 to 3 pounds) about 50 minutes to 1 hour and 15 minutes.

Tips: We highly recommend a bone-in, skin-on turkey breast for moister meat with more flavor. If you prefer a smaller, boneless breast, the roasting time will be significantly less. (A 2-to-3-pound boneless breast should take about 40 minutes.) Many turkey breast recipes recommend starting the oven at a higher temperature of 425 degrees. This sears the bird. Then the temperature is reduced to 325 degrees to finish the cooking. It also slightly speeds up the cooking time.

Turkey thighs and legs/drumsticks

These often are the least expensive cuts of the bird. They are also the most forgiving, because the dark meat will remain juicy up to an internal temperature of 195 degrees. Both thighs and legs can be roasted or braised along with vegetables, allowing you to cook your main and side at the same time.

Example: At 325 degrees, ¾ to 1 pound legs will cook in 2 to 2¼ hours; ¾ to 1 pound thighs in 1¾ to 2 hours.

Tips: Thighs and legs will yield crisper skin if they are lightly salted and refrigerated up to 24 hours before roasting. For deeper color, give them a good sear before roasting. Or you can run them under the broiler for a minute or two. If you crowd the turkey pieces in a pan, they may take longer to cook.